What are you feeding your dog?

As we are all well aware, the pet food industry is booming. It feels like there are new food products on the market every day – that are offering ‘premium’ or ‘super-premium’ foods for our pooches.

Every dog is different and therefore suited to different diets. There is no right answer when it comes to what you are feeding your dog.

But as responsible pet owners – how do we go about assessing whether our beloved dog’s food is fulfilling all the dietary needs that are so essential in keeping our pooches healthy?

This is a very difficult question to answer because every dog is different with varying dietary requirements. I do however believe in a few pet-health concepts that all of us should consider adopting more of – for the benefit of our pets and the industry as a whole.

The following are my favourite current pet food trends on the market, why they are worth your time, and how we need to push pet food companies to become more transparent with labelling and processing procedures.

Millennials are the future of pet food.

“Between 2007 and 2015, Millennials were responsible for 43% of the growth in the number of pet owners in the United States. The 43 million pet owners in the 18- to 34-year-old age group now account for around one in three pet owners, according to Packaged Facts in the report Millennials as Pet Market Consumers.” Ruth Washton and Robert Brown

The reason that this is so important is because not only are millennials willing to spend huge amounts of money on their pets (who have now become replacements or stepping stones for having children), they are also dictating pet food trends based on their values.

The ‘avocado millennial generation’ is obsessed with health conscious, organic, non-processed, gluten-free etc. food products for themselves – so why would they not be for their pets? Trending foods such as sweet potato, kale and non-live stock meats are becoming increasingly popular in pet foods.

This is in fact is great news for all of us pet owners. Essentially it means that there are more high- end pet food products on the market that cater to sometimes even specific health problems in your pets.

“The desire to pamper pets and the trend for healthful, high-end foods are core to the motivations that drive millennials to purchase pet food.” – RICHARD ROWLANDS

Mine & Z’s world renowned dog friendly beef wellington

Most exciting pet – trend foods to consider

Turmeric. I have talked about this super-power natural supplement a million times – and I will continue bothering you with it in the future. If you are not yet adding this to your own food as well as your pets food – then please start today.

Raw- meat food is still controversial & not suitable to every dog. I would advice you to think very carefully before embarking on a fully raw meat diet. Instead; think ADD ONS and a combination style diet – a little bit of everything is the best route.

Livestock meats are & should become passé. Although I do not believe in vegan or vegetarian diets for pets read why – there are many other great meat sources that are not ‘harvested’ in such inhumane conditions and manners as livestock. Think wild-caught fish, deer, boar, and pheasants.

“Raising animals for food requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water and causes immense animal suffering. A staggering 51 percent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture, according to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute.” – PETA

3. Better Labelling & Oversight. As the consumer, we should be aware of how our pet food manufactures are not only producing the food our pets consume – but also how and from where the ingredients are sourced. It should no longer be enough to label ‘organic’ or ‘ethical’ on pet food cans – we should be informed on how this is done in practice.

My ultimate advice for all pet owners out there is to be conscious and informed.

Create a relationship with the pet brands that you purchase from – and don’t be shy to add new stuff to your dogs existing meals. For some ‘Add-On’ ideas that I like to add to Z’s food scroll all the way down.

Become informed about the sourcing, production, and manufacturing practices of your favourite brands.

Ask questions.

Add Turmeric 🙂

And finally as always stay in touch with your vet, or with us, if you have any further questions or comments 🙂